M5.3 earthquake 49 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 49 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Feb 23, 2020, 7:50 AM GMT+13 (18:50 UTC), 18 km (11 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 62 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-02-22 18:50:18 UTC
- Depth
- 17.5 km (10.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.778° S, 174.889° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.093 · 11 stations |
| 5.38 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 5.3 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 196°, dip 35°, rake 78°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 30°, dip 55°, rake 98°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 8.5 km horizontally, 3.2 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 43°
- Stations used
- 136
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.583 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2416 days ago · 10 km deep · 43 km away
- 5.662 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2416 days ago · 10 km deep · 24 km away
- 4.750 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2415 days ago · 35 km deep · 13 km away
- 4.7107 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2413 days ago · 10 km deep · 58 km away
- 4.5139 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2388 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
- 5.055 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 2372 days ago · 42 km deep · 74 km away · felt by 1
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70007uuu (also filed as iscgem617549559). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 7:41 AM UTC.